Vivendra C.N. Ratnayake took his oaths as a fourth-generation lawyer before the Supreme Court on 2 November 2022.
Vivendra is the eldest son of Senior Deputy Solicitor General Dilan Ratnayake and Attorney-at-Law Virasmi Weerakkody and the grandson of President’s Counsel Aloy N. Ratnayake who was also a past Chairman of ANCL and later served as the Ambassador to the Philippines.
Vivendra’s great grandfather was Crown Proctor D.A.B. Ratnayake who practised in Kurunegala. He was also the first SLFP Mayor of Kurunegala.
Vivendra hails from a family of legal luminaries from Kurunegala – five of his granduncles, one of his uncles, and two of his aunts are lawyers. He was a former Head Prefect of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 10 and the school’s swimming Vice Captain in the year 2017.
Vivendra also obtained an honours pass at the attorney-at-law final exams conducted in October 2021. He apprenticed under President’s Counsel Chetiya Goonasekere in the Attorney General’s Department. He is presently attached to the chambers of President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratne.
Vivendra was selected the best student at the Advance Diploma in Transitional Justice awarded by the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies. He is currently reading for a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London.